Small 3.6 quake hits near Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake near Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia, was reported only 12 minutes ago by Geoscience Australia (GeoAu), considered the main national agency that monitors seismic activity in Australia. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 6.2 miles beneath the epicenter in the morning on Monday, May 18th, 2026, at 7:51 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake which listed the quake at magnitude 3.6 as well. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), reported the same quake at magnitude 3.6.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Gaeta (pop. 110) located 13 miles from the epicenter, Monto (pop. 1,200) 24 miles away, and Gin Gin (pop. 1,100) 30 miles away. In Bucca (pop. 1000, 40 miles away), Mundubbera (pop. 1,300, 43 miles away), Gayndah (pop. 2,000, 44 miles away), and Bundaberg (pop. 73,700, 55 miles away), the quake was probably not felt.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: May 18, 2026 07:51 am (GMT +10) local time (17 May 2026 21:51 GMT)
Magnitude: 3.6
Depth: 10.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 24.99°S / 151.48°E (North Burnett, Queensland, Australia)
Primary data source: GeoAu
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/302725/Small-36-quake-hits-near-Bundaberg-Queensland-Australia.html